Spring is here, the outdoors is recommended, temperatures are rising and the desire for lunch on the grass is emerging.
A trend is emerging: the chic picnic. Let’s speak about the best places to picnic in Paris.
Here is the choice of the ideal basket with various activities. Enjoy your meal!
In short strides, shorts and a T-shirt, the Fontainebleau forest is the ideal place for an active and athletic picnic.
Where? In the forest of Fontainebleau. With more than 20,000 hectares of woodland, this ancient royal forest and hunting area has become over the centuries a source of inspiration for artists (impressionist painters, photographers, writers, etc.). There are many species (oaks, pines, beeches, chestnuts), nearly 800 remarkable trees, including the oak of Rocher Canon. Today, it has become an essential place to relax in the heart of nature.
Cart. A stop by the Barthélemy cheese dairy, where the fontainebleau is said to have been invented, the famous sparkling and airy dessert made from raw cow’s milk, a mixture of thick and liquid cream. A caloric bombinette to be preceded by a selection of bries and other matured cheeses (cantal, goats, camembert…) by Gilles and Odile Goursat. A quick tour of Frédéric Cassel’s pastry shop for bread and the pleasant market for some fruit and vegetables, and the deal is in the bag.
Fromagerie Barthélemy. 92, rue Grande, in Fontainebleau. Tel .: +33 1 64 22 21 64. Daily except Sunday afternoon and Monday.
Pastry shop Frédéric Cassel. 71-73, rue Grande. Tel .: + 33 1 64 22 29 59. Daily except Sunday afternoon and Monday.
Fontainebleau market, Place de la République. Tuesday, Friday and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
To do and see. We no longer present the famous rocks of Fontainebleau. World famous, they allow initiates but also beginners to practice climbing. Individually or with a club, rock climbing enthusiasts can train and have fun by storming the boulders. For hikers, 500 km of marked trails allow you to cross the undergrowth and clearings. Numerous circuits of different levels (duration, distance, height difference…) adapt to each desire. On foot, on horseback or by bike, the Fontainebleau forest will soon hold no secrets for you.
Family picnic
Chic picnics in Paris : The best places. We’ll start with the family picnic. Nothing like a little greenery to organize a lunch on the grass that everyone likes. The newly renovated Jardin d’Acclimatation is a perfect solution.
Where? In the Jardin d’Acclimatation. Reopened since June 1, the Jardin d’Acclimatation is an original and exotic natural space that allows us to discover plants and flowers from elsewhere. It is an ideal place for families: you can land on the grass but also discover new aspects of nature. A walk in the 18 hectares of the Jardin d’Acclimatation allows families to admire the meadows, the large alleys, the hills but also the water points. What to get away, for a moment, from city life. The renovation of the Jardin d’Acclimatation reveals an architecture inspired by Jules Verne and Harry Potter to enter a magical world that appeals to both parents and children.
Jardin d’Acclimatation. Bois de Boulogne (16th century). 2 entrances : Carrefour des Sablons and Foundation side; only one exit: Saint James. Every day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Online reservation recommended.
Cart. About twenty minutes on foot or 5 minutes by car, Vivin is “the” cellar master of Neuilly. Known for the quality of its bottles, its table d’hôte and its tasting evenings, it also offers take-out the ultimate French charcuterie from a family farm in the Tarn (pâté de tête, ham, sausage ). There is also the best of Iberian hams (pata negra, serrano), homemade gravlax salmon, royal Greek boutarga, cut cheeses or seasonal desserts and chocolate cakes.
Vivin. 114, avenue Achille-Peretti (92) Neuilly. Tel .: +33 1 46 24 19 19. Daily except Sunday and Monday from 10 am to 8 pm.
To see and do. Take to the skies sitting on the flying chairs or test the Speeds Rockets at 45km / h, the flagship animation … With 42 attractions for all tastes and for all ages, enough to spend a day full of bouncing away from cars and hubbub!
Romantic picnic
A stroll in Bagatelle Park ensures a charming and poetic day among its small bridges, rocks, caves, water mirrors and artificial waterfalls and above all its magnificent rose garden.
Where? In Bagatelle. In the heart of the Bois de Boulogne, the park, owned by the City of Paris since 1905, offers a real island of calm and greenery far from the bustle of Paris.
Parc de Bagatelle in the Bois de Boulogne, road from Sèvres to Neuilly (16th century). Daily 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Entrance: € 2.50.
Cart. A stop at the Grande Épicerie on the right bank, about ten minutes by car from Bagatelle, will allow you to make a custom picnic from a selection of 6,000 high-end products: black pork ham from Corsica Pascal Flori, Barthouil Scottish salmon, transalpine Mo Buffala cheeses, but also fruit and vegetables, homemade breads and pastries.
Grande Épicerie de Paris. 80, rue de Passy (16th century). Tel: +33 1 44 14 38 00. Monday to Saturday 10 am to 8 pm and Sun 9 am to 1 pm.
Chic picnics in Paris : The best places To see and do during a romantic picnic. A stroll is essential to discover its treasures, such as the famous rose garden created in 1907 by Forestier, curator of the Parks and Gardens of Paris, and which has some 10,000 roses, the garden of irises and that of perennial plants. And also, the castle of Bagatelle, madness built in 1777 for the Comte d’Artois, brother of King Louis XVI (guided tour every Sun and public holidays at 3 p.m.), as well as a Chinese-style pagoda dating from the 19th century. century. The vast lawns of this romantic park are perfect for lunch on the grass.
Cultural picnic
A stone’s throw from the Louvre, a stone’s throw from the Musée de l’Orangerie, the Tuileries garden allows you to eat while cultivating yourself.
Where? In the Tuileries garden. The oldest garden in France is a place for cultural walks (with its statues of Maillol or Rodin). The green spaces and the large fountain also make this garden a place of relaxation for Parisians. In the center of the capital, the Tuileries garden allows you to have a magnificent view of Paris and its monuments, especially if you decide to gain height with the Ferris wheel. Finally, the garden is a place of entertainment with the Tuileries festivals during the summer, from June to August, where several attractions are offered to Parisians.
Tuileries garden. Place de la Concorde (1st).
Cart. On your way to the gardens, a visit to Kayser is a must. Perfect for a gourmet picnic, a good choice of sandwiches, quiches, salads … and formulas. Do not miss to take a dessert among their vairées pastries.
Eric Kayser bakery – Louvre Palais Royal. 4 Rue de l’Échelle, 75001 Paris. Tel.: +33 1 40 15 01 31 Every day from 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
To see and do. While waiting for the back-to-school exhibitions, the Musée de l’Orangerie (in the Tuileries garden) is open to (re) discover the Water Lilies, emblematic works of Monet.
Orangery Museum. Place de la Concorde (1st). Price: € 6.50. Open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed Tuesday and July 14th.
Picnic by bike
When the bicycle rhymes with the lunch basket, there is nothing like a hike to whet your appetite.
Where? In Auvers-sur-Oise (95), about thirty kilometers north of Paris, in the footsteps of the Impressionists and Van Gogh. We take families and bikes by car or train (bikes allowed free of charge in the Transilien) from Gare du Nord, line H, and Saint-Lazare, line J).
Cart. Apart from the local pizzerias which will not refuse you your cardboard box, head for the Palette Gourmande, “the delicatessen” of Auvers-sur-Oise! In the pretty shop with well-aligned shelves, the selection is sharp, as much for the grands crus of Bordeaux as of cocoa. At the parade, all the products of the French soil (truffles, foie gras, caviar, sardines and seafood specialties) but also ready-made meals, sweets, cookies and fruit juices.
Gourmet Palette. 1 bis, rue du Général-de-Gaulle, Auvers-sur-Oise (95). Tel.: +33 1 30 37 69 42. Daily except Monday.
To see and do. In order to warm up before the lunch break, we take a marked path which makes a loop of a little over thirty kilometers from the village and which allows to discover the landscapes and villages of the Oise, and walk along the river. Brochure available at the Auvers tourist office After the break, a stroll in the city of Val-d’Oise where the painter Van Gogh spent 70 days. The opportunity to (re) discover the workshops houses of Daubigny with its decorations painted by Corot, Daumier… (admission: from € 4 to € 6, www.atelier-daubigny.com) and Émile Boggio (admission: € 4 , www.ville-auverssuroise.fr) and the house of Dr Gachet. Without forgetting the Château d’Auvers, which offers an Impressionist Vision course and whose domain, fitted out as a terrace, offers a nice panorama (admission: from € 7.50 to € 12, free for children under 6, www.chateau -auvers.fr).
Literary picnic
Nibble on the go, with your head under the parasol, lying on a deckchair in Georges-Brassens Park, not far from the old book market. Like a taste of bliss. Please pay attention : Chic picnics in Paris : The best places for literary picnic.
Where? At Georges-Brassens park. Created in 1975 to replace the Vaugirard horse market and the capital’s slaughterhouses, the garden bears the name of the poet and singer who lived in rue Santos-Dumont, near the park. There is an apiary next to the Pinot Noir vines and the Silvia-Montfort Theater, which adjoins the eastern part of this green space.
Georges-Brassens Park. 2, place Jacques-Marette (15th century). 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Cart. Le Grenier à pain will help you choose a traditional picnic without surprises, consisting of sandwiches, salads and desserts with or without formula.
Le Grenier à Pain. 215, rue de la Convention (15th century). Tel .: +33 1 43 37 44 83. Daily except Wednesday.
To see and do. Every weekend, the old horse market houses the old and second-hand book market. Lovers of literature or true bibliophiles, you can wander the aisles of booksellers and find comics, pockets, classic or contemporary novels, popular or cultural magazines. Lie down on the grass and dive into a good book, a great way to extend your picnic and stop time.
Old and second-hand book market. 14, rue Brancion (15th century).
Picnic by the water
Lunch while listening distractedly to the lapping of the wave. On the Ile de la Jatte, for a moment to think of yourself as a modern-day Robinson Crusoe …
Where? On the Ile de la Jatte (92), on the Seine between Courbevoie and Neuilly. Immortalized by the impressionist painter Georges Seurat on his famous painting A Sunday Afternoon at La Grande Jatte, in the 19th century the place was a place of celebration and leisure for Parisians. Today, we walk there in peace.
Access: by car via the Courbevoie and Neuilly bridges, on foot via the Levallois bridge (Asnières-sur-Seine SNCF station or metro line 3, Pont-de-Levallois).
Cart. Before crossing one of the bridges that lead to Ile de la Jatte, stop for supplies at Rosa Bonheur in the West. Moored since last year under the Asnières bridge, the third tavern of the team which already makes the Buttes-Chaumont and the port of Invalides dance offers wood-fired pizzas, assortments of cold meats, oysters and take-away tapas (artichoke cream, tarama, tapenade, sardine, rillettes, etc.).
Rosa Bonheur in the West. 20, quai du Docteur-Dervaux in Asnières-sur-Seine (92). Daily except Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday to Friday: 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday: 12 p.m. to 11 p.m., Sunday: 12 p.m. to 10 p.m.
To see and do. The “Impressionists’ route”, in the footsteps of Seurat and Monet. A long walk of 4 km in ten stages, where we find faithful reproductions of the largest paintings created on the island by Seurat, Monet, Van Gogh, Sisley, Gleizes or Nozal. Or the Maison de la Pêche et de la Nature, a real museum which offers visitors, in its 18 aquariums and freshwater ponds, roach, catfish, black-bass, pike … in short, everything that the Seine has to offer. fish species! There is also a collection of rods, reels … all the equipment devoted to fishing and which traces the history of this ancestral activity. Also to see, the apiary of Levallois-Perret (free visit), the majestic swans along the banks waiting for someone to throw bread at them, the tiny port of La Jatte and, at the southern tip of the island, the Temple of Love, listed as a historical monument.
House of fishing and nature. 22, allée Claude-Monet. Island of La Jatte (92). Admission: from € 2 to € 3.50. Tel .: +33 1 47 57 17 32.
Royal picnic
Nothing beats Versailles, and the reopening of the queen’s house, for a sovereign picnic.
Where? At the Palace of Versailles. Five hundred points of interest to (re) discover the residence of the kings of France and 800 hectares to satisfy all the most sumptuous picnics. Namely, two areas are specially designed for those who would like a more suitable area: the Saint-Antoine plain, towards the Trianon châteaux, and the Swiss lake, located outside the domain. Why not end the day royally by attending the Musical Grandes Eaux, on Sat and Sun, or at the Musical Gardens, on Tue and Fri!
Palace of Versailles (78). The gardens. Free except on Fountains and Musical Gardens days. Daily 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Cart. Depending on whether you are more salty or sweet, two options and two very different kinds. Either the Parmentier de Versailles, which plays the winning hot potato by offering, in its small kiosk, large hot potatoes garnished at a low price (chicken curry, yogurt-cucumber, etc., depending on the boss’s mood), or the Angelina take-out counter, a Versailles extension of the famous Parisian pastry shop. There, it is especially the homemade cakes that will constitute the snacks of the sweet tooth. It is not forbidden to combine the two!
The Parmentier of Versailles. Grand Trianon Park. Daily from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. except Monday.
Angelina, at the Petit Trianon between the park and the Queen’s Hamlet. Daily except Monday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
To see and do. Several days, even several weeks, would be necessary to visit the domain of Versailles. The reopening last year after three years of work on the Queen’s House provides the opportunity to discover Marie-Antoinette’s refuge. The interior has been refurnished with furniture ordered for the Empress Marie-Louise in 1810. A stroll in the Hamlet and the English garden which adjoins it is worth the detour.
Visit of the Trianon estate, temporary exhibitions, the Coach Gallery, the gardens and the park. Price: 12 €. Free for children under 26.
Traditional picnic
A preserved natural setting, surrounded by Haussmann buildings: Parc Monceau is the ideal place for the most classic of lunches on the grass …
Where? At Parc Monceau. The garden extends over 8.5 ha is enclosed by large gilded gates dating from 1860. Swings, playground, pony rides, glaciers … make it a family place but also romantic and calm, with a thousand curiosities: artificial cave, small bridge, false Egyptian pyramid, obelisk… Seeded in the garden, the follies date from the development by the Duke of Chartres in 1769 and from the Second Empire when the garden was redesigned by the engineer Adolphe Alphand. Not to be missed: the Naumachie, an oval basin bordered by a Corinthian colonnade. Many lawns or benches allow a pleasant picnic away from cars.
Parc Monceau. 35, bd Haussmann (8th century). Access also: av. Velasquez, av. Van-Dyck, av. Ruysdaël.
Cart. Newly installed on rue de La Terrasse, the Sur les Quais boutique offers a nice assortment of tapenades and fine meats. For a gourmet picnic, you can combine it with Emile and Jules’ favorite bread, the “pillow” located almost directly opposite, complete with a thin apple pie.
Shop On the Quays. 17, rue de la Terrasse (17th). Tel .: +33 1 47 64 53 38. Monday: 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Tuesday to Saturday: 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Sunday: 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Émile & Jules. 18, rue de la Terrasse (17th). Tel: 01 73 75 67 44. Monday to Friday 7 am to 8:30 pm, Saturday 8 am to 8 pm.
To see and to do. (Re) discover the magnificent collections of Asian art at the Cernuschi Museum.
Cernuschi Museum. 7, av. Velasquez (8th century). Tuesday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday until 9 p.m.
And the magnificent mansion of Moïse de Camondo. It houses its collections devoted to French decorative art from the second half of the 18th century.
Decorative Arts Museum. 63, rue de Monceau (8th). Wednesday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Contact us to plan your picnic in Paris!